NHL Notes: Duchene injured

Matt Duchene #9 of the Colorado Avalanche is attended to by head athletic trainer Matthew Sokolowski after being injured against the Minnesota Wild at the Pepsi Center on March 6, 2012 in Denver, Colorado. AFP/Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

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QMI Agency

Mar 8, 2012

, Last Updated: 7:31 PM ET

Matt Duchene would probably like to hit the rewind button on this season.

The Colorado Avalanche forward will miss the next month with a right ankle problem, the second significant injury he's had this year. He missed 20 games with a knee injury before returning to the lineup Feb. 19.

"Not sure why God is putting me through these tests, but I have faith it's for the best," Duchene said on his Twitter account. "I'm gonna work as hard as I possibly can to be back in an Avs jersey before the season is over. It kills me to be out again."

Duchene, who has just 13 goals and 13 assists in 48 games, was hurt Tuesday against the Minnesota Wild. He won't won't require surgery, though.

TOEWS BACK ON ICE

Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews was back on blades Thursday, the first time he's skated since suffering a concussion last month.

Granted, he skated alone before the Blackhawks practice but his teammates were encouraged that he's moving in the right direction.

"We saw him working hard; he looked pretty good," Duncan Keith told CSNChicago.com. "It's so good to see his face all red and sweating and coming off the ice like he's working hard. We haven't seen that in a while so it's nice to see."

Toews has missed eight games after being disagnosed with a concussion Feb. 19. There's still no timetable for his return, though.

"It's a big first step seeing him out there, so we'll see how he's progressing," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "Off that, we'll certainly have a (better) idea that he's closer."

DUBINSKY COMES CLEAN

New York Rangers forward Brandon Dubinsky didn't practice with the team Wednesday after leaving Tuesday's game early, the result of an apparent hand injury.

But Thursday Dubinsky and Rangers coach John Tortorella came clean Thursday, revealing that his injury was actually an issue with his nose. Huh?

"I'm OK, I took it in the nose pretty good," Dubinsky told Newsday. "The issue is the (sinus) pressure."

Apparently the New York media, uh, assumed it was a hand injury because Dubinsky left the game against the New Jersey Devils after a fight with Ryan Carter.

"Just didn't feel well; got hit in the nose pretty hard," Tortorella told the New York Post. "(He's) just having some problems with his sinuses, just isn't on top of it. So he took today off."

TYUTIN DONE?

Columbus Blue Jackets defenceman Fedor Tyutin could miss the rest of the regular season after breaking his right hand during Tuesday's win over the Phoenix Coyotes.

Tyutin, the Jackets' top defenceman, has played all 66 games this season and missed just four in the previous three years. He has five goals and 21 assists.

"He may be out for the rest of the season so that's a big injury for us," Jackets coach Todd Richards told the Columbus Dispatch. "He finished the game with a broken hand. It happened in the third period. It was a point shot that hit him but he continued to play."

Meanwhile, Columbus centre Derek MacKenzie is out indefinitely with concussion-like symptoms. Like Tyutin, MacKenzie has played in every game this season.

The Blue Jackets called up forward Maksim Mayorov from Springfield of the AHL.